Archaeologists sift through ancient refuse at road site

JANE, Mo. -- Archaeologists are sifting through piles of ancient refuse, hoping to learn more about those who lived in what is now McDonald County.

Archaeologists from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield have been working for the past month on three sites within about a half-mile of the intersection of U.S 71 and Missouri 90. The expansion of U.S. 71 to four lanes from the Arkansas state line to near Jane will mean the destruction of rock outcroppings and bluffs near the intersection.

Before that happens, archaeologists hope to learn all they can about a group of people who used those bluffs as shelters 8,000 years ago.

Jack Ray, an archaeologist with Southwest Missouri State's Center for Archaeological Research, said most of what his team of five archaeology majors and graduate students have found is a rich "midden," or refuse deposit, of the bones of butchered animals, shavings from the manufacture of arrowheads and spear points, and pieces of pottery.

"These items can tell you a lot about a people fairly quickly," Ray said.

Evidence found

Henson Cave and Henson Shelter, two rock formations within yards of each other just north of the intersection, show evidence that two or three family groups may have lived at the site for several months or even years about 500 to 1,000 years ago, Ray said.

The third site, known as Southview Shelter, located higher on the bluffs east of the intersection, shows evidence that many different people used the spot as a sort of field camp during the past 8,000 years.

"The intensity of occupation at the Southview Shelter is much less than at Henson Cave, but it stretches over a much longer period," Ray said. "The other two sites show much more intensive occupation, like someone was living there, but it only goes back to 1350 to 1550 A.D."

The sites were found several months ago when archaeologists working for the Missouri Department of Transportation explored several outcroppings before the construction of the four-lane U.S. 71. The department is contracting with Southwest Missouri State to conduct the dig.

Brian Stockdale, 23, a senior anthropology major from Kansas City, said the work has provided an opportunity to put what he has learned to practice and to develop an eye for the items that needs to be preserved.

On Monday, Stockdale said he had found several dozen flakes of rock that were cut as ancient residents made their arrowheads and spear points.

"After a while, the flakes become pretty routine," Stockdale said. "When you find an arrow point or spear point, it's really gratifying. It's exciting as a scientific find, but I still think it's just cool to find old stuff that's been buried in the ground all these years."

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On the Net

Southwest Missouri State: www.smsu.edu/

Missouri Department of Transportation: www.modot.state.mo.us/